Huge water main break traps motorists on Md. road

BETHESDA, Md. (AP) -- A massive, aging water main ruptured
Tuesday, transforming a suburban Washington road into a raging
river and trapping nine motorists who had to be rescued from the
frigid deluge by emergency workers in helicopters and boats.

The water gushed down River Road and rocked cars. Two people in
a minivan were plucked by helicopter out of the roaring rapids,
water crashing and spraying around them as they were lifted to
safety in a basket. Other motorists escaped 4-feet deep water by
boat.

Montgomery County fire officials said five people were checked
for hypothermia; temperatures outside were in the 20s.

"The water tumbled over the car like a wave," said Silvia
Saldana, of Springfield, Va., who was traveling to work when she
became trapped. "I started to pray."

Fire spokesman Pete Piringer said crews had trouble getting to
people because of the swift-moving water. Officials said 150,000
gallons of water per minute were rushing out at one point, spilling
rocks and other debris onto the road.

Trees fell onto a power line and knocked down a utility pole.
Schools in the county closed early because of widespread water
outages, and a hospital where three people rescued were treated and
released diverted ambulances and closed its trauma division because
of lost water pressure.

Hebert De Rienzo tried to turn his small hatchback around as the
road turned into a river, but there wasn't enough time. Water began
rising in and around the car, splashing on De Rienzo and his
fiancee. Christmas presents were ruined.

"We couldn't open the windows because the water would come
through," he said. "We were scared."

A man who lives about 50 feet from the street described the
unexpected flood after the pipe, about 5.5 feet in diameter,
ruptured.

"I thought it might be a minor leak, then suddenly I stepped
outside and, 'My God!"' said Raj Bhansaly. "It looked literally
like the Potomac River."

From his house, Bhansaly said he saw two cars tied to rescue
vehicles with ropes.

Firefighter Anthony Bell was on a fire truck when he saw brown
water on the road and realized something wasn't right.

"We were wondering if we could make the rescue," he said. Bell
and other firefighters raced through the water and pulled four
people from three cars.

"I've been here 20 years," he said, "and I've never seen
anything like this."

John White, a Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission spokesman,
said it was not yet clear what caused the break.

Because of the water's intensity, fire officials did not allow
utility workers to immediately shut down valves where the break
occurred, White said. But crews were able to shut down valves
farther down the pipeline, stopping the flow. Authorities said the
water flowed into a nearby creek.

Water pressure was being restored late Tuesday to hundreds of
customers, including the National Institutes of Health and the Food
and Drug Administration, which are located in the area.

There have been several major water main breaks this year in the
wealthy suburb of Montgomery County. In June, a rupture closed more
than 800 restaurants and left tens of thousands of people
scrambling for clean drinking water.